Demonstrators use a car as a barricade in
downtown Genoa
(EPA/EMPICS)
Genoa
The Genoa G8 summit in July 2001 provided the background to one
of the bloodiest protests in Europe's recent history. It was a lesson
to anyone getting involved in direct action protest that things
can turn very nasty, very quickly, when you act without the permission
of the state.
Many people who got caught up in the Genoa events are still recovering,
mentally and physically, to this day. The killing of a young Genovese
man, Carlo Giuliani, was particularly harrowing. And several hundred
demonstrators were hospitalised after police attacks and torture
in custody.
The Genoa police are currently standing trial for their actions.
Some resigned, and some have admitted to planting Molotov cocktails
in order to justify a massive raid on a school being used as a dormitory
by demonstrators – not to mention faking the stabbing of a police
officer to frame activists. A lot of activists had their spirits
broken at Genoa – although, as later demonstrations have shown,
they're still prepared to fight on.
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